Animated Easter Pop-up
by kim@pixelbit.com

What you make is yours but please don't steal my work

Open a new image 300 X 800 transparent.

Use your preset shapes, shape set to ellipse.
In your color palette, foreground is NULL.
Background is the pastel pattern of your choice.
Line width (Stoke in PSP 7) is set as low as possible.
Press and hold your SHIFT key and make a circle the full width of your image.

Use your deformation tool (PSP X calls this tool "pick"
Grab the small square along the top edge and pull up to stretch out your egg.

Use your mover tool and slide the egg all the way to the bottom of your image,
so the bottom of the egg is almost touching the bottom of the image.

Use your freehand (lasso) tool set to point to point
Make a jagged line right through the center of the egg, then continue to select the top portion of the egg.

Click on the top portion of the egg to form the ants around the top half of the egg.
If you don't automatically have a promoted layer, click Layers > Promote selection to layer.
Make sure that the bottom layer is ONLY the bottom half and the top layer is only the top half.

Make the top layer active.
Select all.
Float (CTRL + F)
Defloat (CTRL + SHIFT + F)
Selections > Modify > Contract > 1

Selections > Invert.
Float.

Use your paintbrush tool, settings shown below.

In your color palette, make the foreground color black.
Press and hold your left mouse button and rub your mouse all over the very VERY thin selection that borders the top half of the egg.

Deselect.
Make the bottom layer active.
Repeat the last few instructions to make a black border around the bottom half.

Open an Easter tube that will fit fairly well inside the egg.
Make a duplicate and close the original to preserve it.
Resize if needed.
Copy
Back to your egg.
Paste as a new layer.

In your layer palette, place your Easter tube on the bottom under the egg halves.

Use your selection tool set to rectangle and select and delete any parts
of the Easter tube that poke out past the bottom of the egg.

In your layer palette, turn your egg TOP off. Merge visible.
Turn the egg top back on.
Now you should have only 2 layers
The egg top and the Easter tube and egg bottom merged.
From now on we will refer to THIS image as your WORKING image.
Use your selection tool set to rectangle, select any part of the Easter tube that sticks up past the top of the egg, delete.

Merge > flatten.
Copy.
Paste as new image.
Click layers > promote to layer.
From mow on this image is your FINISHED image.
 

Back to your working image. Press undo (if you had to select and delete part of the Easter tube top, undo twice)
Use your mover tool.
Click on the egg TOP
Press and hold your CTRL key and tap your UP arrow key TWO times.
If there is still a part of your Easter tube that sticks up past the top of the egg, select and delete it now.
Merge > Flatten. Copy

Go to your finished image. Paste as a new layer (CTRL + L)

Back to your working image.
Undo.
Use the mover tool and click on the egg top
press and hold the CTRL key and tap the up arrow two times.
Select and delete any part of the Easter tube that is sticking up past the top of the egg.
Merge > Flatten. Copy
 

Go to your finished image.
Paste as a new layer.

working image...undo, move the top up. flatten, copy

finished image....paste as new layer

repeat until the egg top has almost cleared the Easter tube (see image below)

At this point you can close your working image as you are done with it.
In your finished image, turn off all layers except the top layer.
Make the top layer active.
Use your magic wand tool, tolerance set to 0.
Click on the white area on the outside of your egg.
If not all of the white is selected, press and hold the shift key to select an additional area.
When all of the white is selected, press delete.
Deselect.

Turn the top layer OFF. Next layer down ON and active.
Repeat the steps above to delete the white background.
Go through all of the layers, one at a time and remove the white background from all of the layers.

Turn all layers ON.

Save your image in psp format.
 

Open Animation shop.
File > Preferences > General Program Preferences > Layered Files
Make your settings match the settings shown below.

Click OK and open your image.

SHIFT + D to make a duplicate image.

On the duplicate, click on the first frame, press delete.
Click on the last frame, press delete.
Now your duplicate has two frames less then the original.

Still on the duplicate, select all (CTRL + A)|
Animation > reverse frames.

With all frames still selected (if you're not sure, select all again),
Copy.
Make the original image active.
Click on the LAST frame.
Edit > Paste > After Current.

On the toolbar, double click on the crop tool to open the crop properties window.
Click Surround Opaque, click OK.

Click the CROP button just above the toolbar.
 

You can close the duplicate now as you are done with it.

You have only one image open now.
Select all.
Press ALT + ENTER to open the frame properties.
Change the speed to 20, click ok.

Click on frame ONE to select only frame 1.
ALT + ENTER again.
Change the speed of this one frame to 100.

Your image right now is HUGE.
Resize so it is a workable size.
Save and you're done :-)